Everything about The Bovington Tank Museum totally explained
The
Bovington Tank Museum is the foremost collection of
armoured vehicles in the
United Kingdom. With almost 300 vehicles on exhibition from 26 countries it's the most wide-ranging collection of
tanks and armoured vehicles in the world, and includes one of two working examples of a German
Tiger I tank in the world and a British World War I
Mark I — the world's oldest surviving combat tank.
The collection is held at the Bovington
Army camp in the
county of
Dorset in South West
England, about 1 mile (2 km) north of the town of
Wool and 12 miles (20 km) west of the major port of
Poole – . The camp trains all sections of the British Army in tracked vehicle driving as well as repairing and maintaining the vehicles in its workshops. The museum is situated within the camp.
History
The Bovington camp was set up in
1916 by the
British War Office as a tank crew training facility, at that time the newly introduced tanks were being introduced into the
First World War in an attempt to break the stagnation of trench warfare. In 1919 the tanks returned to Bovington from France. Many of them were fit only for scrap. However, a small number of the least damaged vehicles were put to one side so tank crew and designers could have an idea of the tank's early heritage. In 1923, the writer
Rudyard Kipling visited Bovington and recommended a suitable
museum should be set up. The collection was increased greatly after the
Second World War, as many
Allied and captured Axis tanks were added, and in
1947 it was opened to the general public. The Tank Museum has continued to expand and today it's seen primarily as a means of educating and entertaining the general public, with the exhibition being geared in this direction. Many of the tanks are in complete working order and can be seen in action throughout summer months in special displays.
Exhibition halls
The exhibition is split into five sections: the World War I Hall, the Inter War Hall, the World War II Hall, the
Tamiya Hall and the British Steel Hall. The World War I Hall contains the whole British tank development from
Little Willie to the
Mark VIII "Liberty", and also an example of the British Mark V, one of the few World War I tanks still in working order. Incorporated into the World War I hall is an illustration of the life of the soldier and writer
T.E. Lawrence, who lived at nearby
Clouds Hill cottage and served in the
Tanks Corp at Bovington for a short time. The Inter War hall highlights the rapid progress made in tank design during the period leading up to World War II.
The World War II hall is the biggest section, with tanks from most nations involved in the conflict. It includes the German
Tiger I tank No 131 which was captured in
Tunisia in April 1943, and which was fully restored to running condition by the workshops at Bovington. It is the only Tiger I left that's capable of running under its own power. It also has the last surviving
DD Tank with its canvas screen, and the only one still in working order. The
Tamiya hall, sponsored by the popular scale model manufacturer, features post war
Main Battle Tanks (MBT) such as the British
Centurion, the American
M60 and the Russian
T-72. The British Steel hall highlights the
Chobham armour used in the
Gulf War against Iraq and plays tribute to the Centurion tank which, during its 46 year career (1945 - 1991), proved to be one of the best British tanks ever produced.
The museum may be reached by bus from the Wool train station in Dorset. In good weather and if one has good stamina, one can walk to the museum, which is about 1.5 miles from the train station.
Gallery
Image:Tiger_Tank_1,_Bovington.jpg|Bovington's restored Tiger
Image:Bovington Firefly.jpg|Sherman M4A3E8(76)W on the move at the museum in September 2006
Image:Challenger_Mark_I_Tank,_Bovington.jpg|Challenger 1 tank in the British Steel hall
Image:Su76MBovington.jpg|Soviet SU-76M Light Vehicle
Image:HaGoTankBovington.jpg|Type 95 Ha-Go tank
Image:UNVehicleBovington.jpg|United Nations Daimler Ferret peacekeeping light armed mechanised vehicle
Image:CruiserMk1Bovington.jpg|Cruiser Mk I
Image:KingTigerBovington.jpg|King Tiger (with early-version Porsche turret)
Image:DDTankBovington.jpg|Front portion of Surviving DD tank including canvas flotation screen.
Image:FT17_England.JPG|Renault FT-17 tank.
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